TrustRadius is excited to publish our first Buyer's Guide to Digital Analytics Software. It accompanies our Buyer's Guide to Conversion Rate Optimization Software and is based upon 230 in-depth reviews by authenticated users of digital analytics software on our site, www.trustradius.com. TrustRadius is the leading community for professionals to exchange candid insights about business software and help each other make smarter product selection decisions.

While traditional technology analysts cover digital analytics, we felt there was room for a fresh perspective based upon user insights. As demonstrated in articles like “The Recent Forrester Wave on Web Analytics … is Wrong,” it seems we're not alone. There are several principles that have guided the writing of this report:

Small businesses and billion dollar enterprises have completely different needs.

Most technology analysts focus on the needs of large enterprises. In this guide we include a wide array of products ranging from those oriented towards SMBs to those designed for large enterprises. We present these products by their adoption in each market segment - small businesses, mid-size companies and enterprises – and how those customers rate them.

The most useful insights come from users.

Technology analysts are typically not product users, but infer insights by surveying vendors and a few clients. We believe that the most useful insights come from objective hands-on users of a product.

Ratings alone should not drive your decision.

User ratings indicate sentiment, but should not be the sole determinant for product selection. It is critical to understand which product(s) represent the best fit for your needs. In addition to analyzing products by market segment, we provide a distillation of the strengths and areas for improvement of each product as cited in reviews. This provides a launch pad for you to do more in-depth research by reading full reviews, running comparisons, connecting with other users, etc.

Technology success encompasses much more than just technology selection.

Selecting the right product is important but does not guarantee success. In this guide we include expert advice to help you maximize your chance for success.

Markets and vendors are dynamic.

Digital analytics software has seen a lot of change in the last five years. We believe that it is important for buyers to understand market trends and vendor visions and roadmaps when making a decision.

I would like to thank Megan Headley, Research Associate at TrustRadius, for methodically reading every review, conducting numerous expert and vendor interviews, and for writing this report. I would love to hear your feedback on this guide. Did you find it helpful? How can we improve it? Please email me at vinay@trustradius.com or find me on Twitter @vinaybhagat.

About this Digital Analytics Guide —Megan Headley, Research Associate, TrustRadius

This guide is based upon 230 in-depth user reviews of Digital Analytics Software products on TrustRadius. Those insights are augmented by interviews with highly regarded consultants and executives from software vendors.

All TrustRadius reviewers are authenticated via their LinkedIn profile. We check every review to make sure the submission is genuine and meets our stringent criteria for publication: the reviewer must have actually used the product (not just seen a demo); the reviewer does not, and has not, ever worked for the vendor or its competitors; the reviewer used the product in the last 6 months; the review is substantive and not simply an advertorial or an unhelpful, personal venting or vendetta.